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From: sccowan@watmsg.waterloo.edu (S. Crispin Cowan)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: ultra intelligent machines
Message-ID: <33286@watmath.waterloo.edu>
Date: 16 Jan 90 20:01:17 GMT
References: <730@odin.cs.hw.ac.uk>
Sender: daemon@watmath.waterloo.edu
Reply-To: sccowan@watmsg.waterloo.edu (S. Crispin Cowan)
Organization: U. of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 32

In article <730@odin.cs.hw.ac.uk> raza@cs.hw.ac.uk (Z. Raza Hussain) writes:
>"ultra intelligent machines when they evolve, will keep us on as pets!"
Since this assertion is entirely speculative, and based only on very
loose assumptions about the future of technology, I feel that it is
best explored in the realm of science fiction.  Fred Saberhagen
(I think) started this concept with the _Berzerker_ series, in which
he postulates the existance of a self-replicating group of machines,
built as war robots eons ago by a long-dead race, who may have been
killed off by their own robots.  The objective of this group (race?)
of machines is to wipe out life-kind, who they view as threatening.
The ultimate virus.

For a more recient treatment, check out _Ocean of Night_, _Across the
Sea of Suns_, (title I forget), and _Tides of Light_, by Gregory
Benford (who is a scientist, I believe a physicist), where he examines
the same sceneario in more depth, examining technological and
evolutionary issues in more depth, with less smash-'em action.

>Raza Hussain                        janet : raza@uk.ac.hw.cs
>computer science,                 arpanet : raza@cs.hw.ac.uk
>heriot watt uni., Edinburgh          uucp : ..ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!raza
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(S.) Crispin Cowan, CS grad student, University of Waterloo
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"The most important question when any new computer architecture is
introduced is `So what?'"
	-someone on comp.arch
	(if it was you, let me know & I'll credit it)